Since shutting down the government midnight, Friday, Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) talked tough, saying he wouldn’t agree to a short-term continuing budget resolution [CR] without protection for some 700,000 Defereed Action Child Arrivals [DACA]. With some 850,000 non-essential employees on furlough—including Schumer’s personal secretary—the Senate Majority Leader agreed to compromise. President Donald Trump showed why he wrote the “Art of the Deal,” walking away until Democrats saw it his way. Schumer disappointed the hard left of the Democratic Party, more concerned about illegal aliens than working class Americans. Trump wasn’t opposed to a fix for DACA, only expecting Democrats to give a little on his border wall. Why Democrats oppose better border security is anyone’s guess. But Schumer took the easy way out.
Schumer, who shows sympathy to immigration reform, showed his practical Wall Street side, reaching across the aisle to end the government shutdown 81-19. Schumer read national polls showing that 56% of Democratic voters wanted to end the shutdown, with or without DACA. When Schumer hung tough Friday night, he thought polls would tilt toward Democrats but instead showed a backlash to the shutdown for Democrats facing reelection this November. “Schumer caved,” tweeted former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. “Lessons learned—Schumer burned,” said Huckabee, unfairly socking it to the senior N.Y. senator. “It’s official: Chuck Schumer is the worst negotiator in Washington—even worse than Trump,” said Murshed Zaheed, political director for the liberal group CREDO. Schumer did the right thing for the 850,000 furloughed government workers.
While the current CR only lasts for three weeks, it’s plenty of time to negotiate a longer-term deal that includes an extension for DACA or continued funding for the Childhood Health Insurance Program [CHIP], once the baby of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Democratic senators up for reelection in November put pressure on Schumer to end the shutdown. “The question is, how do get out of here in a way that reflects what the majority of the body wants to do,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), concerned that the message was getting lost. “It is critically important that we get this done today,” said Heitkamp, putting the left wing of her party on notice that the shutdown was hurting reelection chances. Getting the GOP-backed CR takes DACA and CHIP off the table at least until Feb. 8 when a bipartisan bill can be fashioned to address concerns on both sides.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) promised Democrats to get the CR that once the government reopens, he would work on a bipartisan way to address DACA, CHIP and other priorities for the opposing party. “To anyone considering such a move, let me be clear: Promises won’t protect anyone from deportation.,” said Martinez Rosas, a “Dreamer” heading the group “We Dream.” “Delay means deportation or us,” highlighting fears of the hard left. No matter how opposed in the House, the GOP must take seriously DACA or face another stalemate at the next CR Feb. 8. While Republicans blamed Democrats for the shutdown, it’s clear that opposing the DACA issue didn’t help the GOP. Trump signaled an openness to deal with the DACA issues once the government reopened. Liberal groups blasted Schumer for taking a conciliatory approach.
McConnell finds himself under more pressure to wrangle a deal with the anti-immigrant faction of the Republican Party. If he doesn’t make good on his promise to address DACA in the next three weeks, the shutdown could repeat itself. “He went to the mats,” said Frank Sarry, executive director of the immigration advocacy group “America’s Voice.” “He had the backbone to lead his caucus into a high-stakes, high-risk battle. It thrilled progressives,” acknowledging that Schumer did everything possible to stand up to Republicans. Yet fanatic progressives, like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), are calling for Schumer’s head. “Today’s cave by Senate Democrats—led by weak-kneed, right-of-center Democrats—is why people don’t believe the Democratic Party stands for anything,” said Stephanie Talyor, president of Progressive Change Campaign Committee, making Democrats unelectable.
Ending the latest government shutdown in three days, both parties realized the high-wire act heading into November’s Midterm Elections. While Democrats have kept the heat on Trump hyping the Mueller Russian collusion investigation, both parties don’t need to look incompetent to voters. Blaming Schumer for “caving” shows the extremes to which the hard left will go to advance a pro-immigrant-minority-LGBT agenda. If Democrats don’t heed the 2016 election, they’re not likely to change guards next November. Trump’s America First agenda resonated with working class voters. Putting illegal immigrants before American citizens sends a powerful message to mainstream voters. Progressives have a pro-immigrant-minority-LGBT agenda but they don’t have the trust of forgotten white voters looking for representation. Blaming Schumer makes progressives look off-the-wall.
